Beverage dispenser



June 1966 w. H. JACOBS ETAL 3,255,609

BEVERAGE DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 25, 1964 FIG! FIG.5

FIGZ

June 14, 1966 w. H. JACOBS ETAL BEVERAGE DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 25, 1964 FIG?) WILL EDWINIL NAHIKIAN 2r ATTORNEYS United States Patent Filed May 25, 1964, Ser. No. 369,800 6 Claims. (Cl. 62-392) This invention relates to beverage dispensers and more particularly comprises a new and improved refrigerated dispenser designed to handle relatively small quantities of beverages.

At the present time there are a variety of refrigerated beverage dispensers on the market, which are designed for commercial use in such places as restaurants, soda foun tains, lunch counters and other food vending establishments. Such dispensers ordinarily have a capacity of approximately 4 to 8 gallons, and their overall size is appreciable. One particularly well known brand is approximately 25 inches high, 20 inches deep and 15 inches wide. Such devices are large enough to contain a complete refrigeration system including an evaporator, compressor, condenser, motor and fan without a packaging problem. While such dispensers are widely used in the establishments mentioned and do not constitute a problem because of their size, they are too large and too costly for ordinary domestic use and certain commercial applications. For example, an average household does not consume in a reasonably short period of time a quantity of beverage even approaching the capacity of the devices described, and space is not available in an ordinary kitchen to mount such units.

An important general object of this invention is to provide a beverage cooler and dispenser suitable for domestic use.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an extremely compact refrigeration system for a beverage dispenser.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide an improved condenser subassembly in a refrigeration system which is compact, efficient, and relatively inexpense.

To accomplish these and other objects the beverage V dispenser of this invention includes among its features a beverage tank, a compressor, and an evaporator in contact with the tank for removing heat from it. The compressor and evaporator form part of a refrigeration system which includes a condenser having a coil made up of a plurality of turns which generate a cylinder and with each of the turns being flattened in a radial direction. A motor is in part surrounded by some of the turns at one end of the coil, and the motor drives a fan disposed within the coil adjacent the motor. The fan includes a plurality of radially oriented vanes which produce uniform air flow over all of the coils which surround it. The same motor which drives the fan is also coupled to an impeller in the tank which circulates the beverage in the tank, stirs it about the evaporator, and sprays it on the tank dome.

These and other objects and features of this invention, along with its incident advantages will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is aside view partly in section of a beverage dispenser constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the fan forming part of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the condenser in the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the pump in the tank of the dispenser; and

FIG. 5 is a top view of the pump.

The beverage dispenser shown in the drawings includes a tank 10 preferably .made of a transparent plastic material which allows the beverage in the tank to be viewed and insulates the beverage. The tank 10 is supported on a stand 12 which serves as a housing for the refrigeration system 14. The refrigeration system includes a compressor 16, evaporator 18 and condenser 20. A jacket 22 forming part of the evaporator 18 extends upwardly into the tank 19, through the tank opening 28 and is supported on a gasket 23 mounted on the top plate 25 of the compressor bracket 27. The jacket 22 contains the evaporator coils 26 through which the refrigerant flows, and picks up and later dissipates the heat from the beverage in the tank 10. A rubber gasket 30 extends about the opening 28 and bears against the jacket 22 to seal the bottom of the tank.

The refrigerant flows from the coil 26 to the compressor 16 which may be. of standard design and preferably a compact type so as to occupy a minimum amount of space in the housing 12. The compressor serves the standard function of compressing the refrigerant to a high pressure with the consequent elevation of its boiling point. The refrigerant enters the compressor through duct 32 and leaves through duct 34 which conveys the refrigerant at a high pressure and temperature to the condenser 20. In the condenser the refrigerant is condensed, releasing heat. The particular configuration of the condenser is an important feature of this invention, and will be described in detail.

The condenser 20 is composed of a coil 36 made up of a number of closely wound turns 38 which generate a cylinder oriented with ,its axis extending vertically and supported on the base 40 of the housing. Each of the turns The upper portion of the coil 36 surrounds a part of motor 44 mounted on a bracket 46 attached to the base plate 40 of the housing 12. The motor 44 may be a shaded pole type motor and should not exceed 1600 rpm. for reasons described below in connection with a magnetic clutch assembly driven by it. The motor is surrounded by the top several turns 38 of the coil which receive the hot gases from the compressor 16. The fan 42, has a central collar 50 mounted on the shaft 52 of the motor 44 and is held in place by a small set screw 54, or some other convenient means. The fan is surrounded by the other. turns of the condenser coil 36 below the turns which surround the motor. In those lower turns of the coil the hot gases which enter the coil actually condense. It will be recognized that appreciably more heat must be extracted from the refrigerant when it condenses than when in the gaseous state as its temperature is being reduced to the temperature of liquefacient.

The fan 42 is generally of the paddle wheel type designed to draw in air in an axial direction and exhaust the air in a radial direction between the radially oriented fins 56. The air enters the fan from both the top and bottom as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is directed radially outwardly by the fins 56 and the central circular wall 58. The air entering from the top of the fan passes about the motor and serves to cool it, and the air entering the bottom of the fan enters the housing through the opening 59 in the raised portion 62 of the base plate 40. That air is not heated by the motor 44 and therefore 'is more effective than the air entering the top of the fan in cooling the turns of the coils. The fanas shown estab- Patented June 14, 1966 lishes a uniform air velocity in all radial directions so as to provide a uniform flow of air over each segment of each turn 38 of the coil that surrounds the fan. As the fan 42 is surrounded by those turns of the coil in which the refrigerant condenses, the fan performs its primary cooling function within that portion of the coil 36 where maximum dissipation of heat is necessary.

The condensed refrigerant leaves the condenser 20 through the duct 60 and enters the capillary tube 64 that causes the refrigerant to vaporize, and the capillary is connected to the inlet end of the evaporator coil 26. The capillary tube restricts the flow of the refrigerant to produce a pressure drop associated with the vaporization process.

The motor 44 which drives the fan 42 also serves as the prime mover for a magnetic coupling device 66. The magnetic coupling device includes a permanent annular magnet 68 supported for rotation on the upper end 70 of the shaft of motor 44. The permanent magnet 68 rotated by the motor 44 is followed by permanent magnet 72 which is connected to and forms part of an impeller assembly 74 disposed at the bottom of the tank 10. The impeller assembly is the same as shown in copending application Serial No. 146,063 filed October 5, 1961 for Apparatus and Method for Carbonating and Dispensing Beverages in the names of Jacobs, Nahikian and Armstrong and is described briefly here as the impeller assembly per se forms no part of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the tank has a cylindrical well 76 surrounded by a shallow annular depression 78. A circular cap 80, preferably made of molded plastic, is disposed over the well and has a flat rim 82 seated in depression 78. The rim 82 carries sloping upstanding projections 84 which engage under tabs 86 attached to the tank to lock the cap in place. The cap has edge notches 88 which allow the cap to be removed by bringing the notches into registration with the tabs. A volute-shaped trough 90 is formed in the cap, and the cap has intake ports 92 communicating with this trough.

The cap 80 has an upstanding handle portion 94 by which it may be grasped and turned for removal. A metal shaft 96 is fixed in the handle portion, for example, by molding or pressing the shaft into the cap material. A circular impeller 98 is rotatably suspended on the shaft and carries pump vanes 100 which are disposed in the trough. 90. The impeller is preferably made of molded plastic, and the magnet 72 is encased in its lower portion. The cap has a discharge opening 102 communicating with the trough 90, surrounded by a nipple 104 in which a stand pipe 106 is mounted, and also has an auxiliary discharge port 108. The magnets 68 and 72 are so polarized that the former drives the latter by magnetic coupling to rotate the impeller 98. The beverage in the tank is thus drawn into the impeller assembly through the ports 92 and pumped through the trough 90 and up through the stand-pipe 106 into the upper part of the tank. The beverage in the tank is also driven by the impeller 98 out through the auxiliary port 108 which causes the beverage in the tank to circulate about the evaporator jacket 22.

A dispenser valve 110, which may be of any commercially available type suitable for dispensing beverages from the tank, is mounted in the forward part of the bowl above the shelf 48.

From the foregoing it will be recognized that the extremely compact condenser-motor-rnagnetic coupling assembly makes it possible to miniaturize the entire system so as to produce a unit for domestic use and certain commercial uses, which allows for the limitations of space and cost imposed by such markets. The fan within the condenser coils draws air downwardly from above the fan causing air to circulate about the upper turns of the condenser coil and about the motor so as to prevent overheating. The maximum eflect of the blower is upon the lower turnsof the condenser coil where the refrigerant condenses. At that location in the condenser the maximum heat removal is necessary, and at that location the blower functions with maximum efiiciency. Because each of the turns of the coil is fiat in a radial direction the fast moving air expelled by the blower will contact the outer surface of each turn over a substantial portion of its surface rather than be deflected from the outer half of the surface of each turn as would be the case if the turns were round in cross section.

The particular speed of the motor is limited by the magnetic coupling which will not work at speeds appreciably higher than 1600 rpm. Consequently it is particularly important that the fan or blower used which is also driven by the motor be particularly efiicient as it moves a considerably smaller volume of air than higher speed motors which would otherwise be used. The blower employed is particularly eflicient in that it subjects each of the turns of the coil which surround it to air traveling at the maximum velocity produced by the blower, although that maximum air velocity is substantially less than what could be derived with higher speed motors.

It is also evident from the foregoing description that when the tank 10 is removed from the stand 12, the stand 12 can readily be removed from the base 40 while the refrigeration system remains intact. Thus, the refrigeration system can be repaired or tested without difiiculty, and a stand may be replaced by another of perhaps different color when it is desired to match a new decor.

From the foregoing description those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications may be made of this invention without departing from its spirit. Therefore, we do not intend to limit the breadth of this invention to the single embodiment illustrated and described. Rather, it is intended that the scope of this invention be limited to the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a beverage cooler having a beverage tank, a compressor and an evaporator in contact with-the tank for removing heat from it, a condenser assembly comprising a coil made up of a plurality of turns of pipe which generate a vertically oriented cylinder, each of said turns of pipe being flattened in a radial direction,

a motor in part surrounded by a plurality of the upper turns of the coil,

a shaft extending downwardly from and driven by the motor and disposed coaxially with the coil,

a generally cylindrically-shaped fan disposed Within and surrounded by an air passageway defined by a plurality of the lower turns of the coil, said fan being driven by the shaft and having a plurality of vanes which radiate outwardly from the axis of the fan in planes which contain the cylinder axis,

a second shaft extending upwardly from and driven by the motor and extending beyond the uppermost coil of the condenser,

and a magnetic coupling carried by and rotating with the shaft and disposed adjacent the tank and adapted to rotate an impeller in the tank.

2. In combination with a beverage cooler having a beverage tank, a compressor and an evaporator in contact,

with the tank for removing heat from it, a condenser assembly comprising,

a condenser coil having turns that generate a cylinder, said turns being closely spaced adjacent one another, a cylindrical fan means surrounded by said coil and oriented with its axis coincident with the axis of said coil, said fan means having a plurality of coextensive radially oriented vane each divided by a partition substantially perpendicular to the axis of said fan means constructed and arranged so that air can be drawn into said fan means from both sides thereof in an axial direction and be directed radially outwardly of said fan means in a uniform velocity in all radial directions over turns of said condenser coil, and a motor interconnected with said fan means through a driving axle located axially of said fan, said motor comprising means for driving a magnetic coupling adapted to rotate an impeller in said tank.

3. A combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein said motor is positioned Within said cylinder whereby aid fan draws air over said motor for said discharge radially outwardly of said fan.

4. A combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein each of the turns of said coil are flattened in a radial direction.

5. A combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein said fan means is disposed within said coil and dominantly surrounded by turns of said coil lying closer to the outlet end of said coil than the inlet end of said coil.

6. A combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein 6 said motor is positioned within said cylinder whereby said fan draws air over said motor for said discharge radially outwardly of said fan, and said turns of said coil are flattened in a radial direction.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,546,323 7/1925 Spowage 230128 X 1,586,745 6/ 1926 Hlllse 62392 X 2,073,404 3/1937 Hobbs 230-128 X 2,291,826 8/1942 Mllfily 62-435 X 2,655,011 10/1953 Ihle et al. 62392 2,668,692 2/1954 Hammell 165156 2,745,641 5/1956 Jacobs 62392 X 3,175,733 3/1965 Lerner 165156 X ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

LLOYD L. KING, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATIUON WITH A BEVERAGE COOLER HAVING A BEVERAGE TANK, A COMPRESSOR AND AN EVAPORATOR IN CONTACT WITH THE TANK FOR REMOVING HEAT FROM IT, A CONDENSER ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A COIL MADE UP OF A PLURALITY OF TURNS OF PIPE WHICH GENERATE A VERTICALLY ORIENTED CYLINDER, EACH OF SAID TURNS OF PIPE BEING FLATTENED IN A RADIAL DIRECTION, A MOTOR IN PART SURROUNDED BY A PLURALITY OF THE UPPER TURNS OF THE COIL, A SHAFT EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM AND DRIVEN BY THE MOTOR AND DISPOSED COAXIALLY WITH THE COIL, A GENERALLY CYLINDERICALLY-SHAPED FAN DISPOSED WITHIN AND SURROUNDED BY AN AIR PASSAGEWAY DEFINED BY A PLURALITY OF THE LOWER TURNS OF THE COIL, SAID FAN BEING DRIVEN BY THE SHAFT AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF VANES WHICH RADIATE OUTWARDLY FROM THE AXIS OF THE FAN IN PLANES WHICH CONTAIN THE CYLINDER AXIS, A SECOND SHAFT EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM AND DRIVEN BY THE MOTOR AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE UPPERMOST COIL OF THE CONDENSER, AND A MAGNETIC COUPLING CARRIER BY AND ROTATING WITH THE SHAFT AND DISPOSED ADJACENT THE TANK AND ADAPTED TO ROTATE AN IMPELLER IN THE TANK. 